December 26, 2024 • 15 mins
The two stories are narrated in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33. In the Kings account King Manasseh was completely opposite his righteous father, Hezekiah. In fact, he was an unmitigated disaster for his idolatrous practices, which even included sacrificing his own son. The incurred God’s wrath and subsequent judgment. In the Chronicles account, Manasseh’s copious sins are also enumerated. But in this account after he had been dragged off to Babylon in chains he humbled himself and implored God. That eventuated in his return to Jerusalem and his fostering Israelite religious practices. The two stories are impossible to harmonize. The best we can do is to note that the characterizations suited differing purposes of the editors of Kings and Chronicles, respectively.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
The Bible is full of stories that we all know
and love, but how well do we know?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
That the answer might surprise you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
The Bible you thought you knew is going to dive
deep into the exquisite details of the Biblical stories that
make them fascinating and transforming. In this week's podcast, we
will treat the story of Manassa, one of the most
notorious of Israel's kings. His story is narrated primarily in
(00:36):
Second Kings, Chapter twenty one, the first eighteen verses. At first,
he is presented as a remarkable king, at least in
terms of his longevity. He began his reign when he
was twelve years old and was on the throne for
fifty five years in Jerusalem. That was an incredible run.
(00:59):
His mother's name was Hefzeba. That's in verse one.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Of chapter twenty one.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
That notation, however, was the extent of the good news
regarding Manassa. Everything subsequently was downhill. Quite simply, the text
points out that Manassa did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord. His evil amounted to his imitating
(01:27):
the cultic and religious practices of the inhabitants that God
had driven out of the promised land. From an Israelite perspective,
these were abominable practices. That's in verse two. After that statement,
the narrative goes into great detail to describe what Manassa
(01:48):
had done to earn this accusation. For openers, he rebuilt
the high places which his father Hezekiah had previously destroyed
in verse three. High places is a technical term that
typically refer to sites where non Israelite cultic practices are observed,
(02:12):
such as sacrificing to gods other than the Israelite deity.
In addition, Manassa erected altars for Baal and made an asherah,
another non Israelite symbol of worship. In the latter case,
Manassa imitated something that Ahab, a former king of the
(02:35):
Northern Kingdom of Israel, had done. Moreover, Manassa worshiped and
served all the hosts of heaven, a generic reference to
multiple deities. The description of these offenses continues. Manassa also
built altars to honor other gods in the Great Temple
(02:58):
in Jerusalem. It was this temple about which the Israelite
God had said quote in Jerusalem, that is, in the
Temple in Jerusalem, I will place my name end quote
that's in verse four. As though that was not enough,
Manassa built altars for the hosts of heaven. Again, this
(03:20):
refers to ancient Near Eastern pantheons in the two courts
that were part.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Of the temple.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Of course, this was the temple that King Solomon had
erected so long ago. But these non Israelite worship thrines
were only part of Manassa's transgressions. He even sacrificed one
of his own sons, something considered an abomination from an
(03:49):
Israelite perspective. That's in verse six. Along with this egregious action,
he dealt with the Black Arts by dealing with souths, sayers, mediums, wizards,
and those who practice augury. As expected, this incurred God's wrath.
(04:10):
What Manassa did was not the result of ignorance. The
king knew very well that he was engaged in distinctly
non Israelite and therefore forbidden religious practices. Indeed, the text
points out that Manassa had made an image of the Asherah,
a sort of poll used for culting purposes, and placed
(04:34):
in the temple, directly disobeying commandments God had made to
David and Solomon. After all, God had placed the divine
name in that temple. Plus, that temple was a symbol
of God's commitment to and protection of Israel. That's in
(04:55):
verse seven. This temple and these divine p promises were
part of the mosaic covenant that God had made with Israel. Unfortunately,
instead of Manassas encouraging his people to follow the Lord
who had elected them, he seduced them into all types
(05:16):
of non Israelite worship. According to this startling text, Israel's
religious practices are described as a worse than the nations
that the Lord had displaced when Israel occupied the Promised Land.
That's in verse nine of chapter twenty one. It is
(05:39):
hardly surprising that God decided to bring judgment on Manassa
and Judah due to these outrageous behaviors. The Lord sent
prophets to announce this judgment that's in verse ten. Quite
simply though the prophets. Through the prophets, the Lord insisted
(06:01):
that Judah Jerusalem, who were now indistinguishable from any other nation,
would now suffer the same fate as the Northern Kingdom experience.
That's in verses twelve and thirteen. The metaphor being used
is that Judah and Jerusalem were being compared to a
dirty dish that had to be cleaned. The Lord planned
(06:25):
to wipe the dish clean and turn it upside down.
The reality to which the metaphor refers was that the
Judean people would be defeated by a foreign enemy. More
than being defeated, Judah would become spoiled. From God's point
(06:46):
of view, this was as low as God's people ever stooped.
That's in verses fourteen to fifteen of chapter twenty one.
In a final statement, the narrator lets a snow that
Manassa shed innocent blood. In a flurry of supposed hyperbole,
(07:07):
we learned that this blood filled the streets of Jerusalem.
It turns out that the initial note that Manassa had
ruled for so long ended up being a criticism rather
than an accolade. Manassa was a great sinner, and he
had induced Judah to follow in his ways.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
That's in verse sixteen.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
This story concludes with the notation that Manassa had died
and that the rest of what he had done was
written in a text that chronicles the deeds of Israel's
and Judas Kings.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
That's in verse seventeen.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Manassa was succeeded by his son Ammone. This is not
the last thing reported about Manassa. However, in his story
as related in Second Chronicles, namely Chapter thirty three, we
are given a very different account. As a matter of fact,
(08:12):
to say that the story is different is to understate
the case considerably. The first part of Manassa's story, as
it appears in Second Chronicles mirrors the story in Second Kings.
We are told about all the wicked.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Things he did.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
As well, we learned about how very long he reigned
in Judah.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
That's in Second Chronicles.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
The first nine verses of chapter thirty three. Also, as
was the case in Second Kings, according to Second Chronicles,
we get a glimpse about God's judgment on Judah. This
came about because of Assyrian aggression. The Assyrians carried off
(08:57):
Manassa to Babylon. He was about owned during.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
The journey that's in verse eleven.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
But then the story goes in an astonishing different direction.
While Manassa was in distress in Babylon, he entreated the
Lord and humbled himself. That seemed to be a code
for a repentant prayer. God heard this supplication and responded.
(09:27):
Without providing any details, the narration points out that God
brought Manassa back to Jerusalem and then back into his kingdom.
When that happened, Manassa realized that the Lord was indeed God.
Up to that point, he had recognized many other deities
(09:50):
as real.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
That had changed. That's in verse thirteen.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
While in Jerusalem, Manassa bill an outer wall and raised
it very high as well. He placed military personnel to
protect that wall. That's in verse fourteen. But Manassa was
not done. He wanted to do something that would reverse
his previous religious practices, so he proceeded to remove any
(10:22):
foreign gods, idols, and altars that he had previously made.
He took them from the temple and cast them away
outside of the city limits. Moreover, he restored the altar
of the Lord and offered on that altar peace and
tex thanksgiving sacrifices. In addition, Manassa now encouraged Judah to
(10:47):
obey the Israelite God. Even though the people continued to
worship at the high places, they still worshiped only Israel's God.
That's in verse seventeen of Chapter thirty three. In Second Chronicles,
Manassa's story concludes in.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
The following manner.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
We are informed where to find his story. His prayer
to God and the words of the prophets who had
spoken to him. That's in verse eighteen. Another element in
this conclusion mentions Manassa's prayer and the fact that God
heard him granted his evil deeds are also rehearsed. But
(11:30):
then we are told that once Manassa humble himself, everything changed.
Then we read that Ammun, his son, succeeded in. Of course,
these two accounts raise an obvious question. How does recons
one reconcile them. The easy answer is one can't. The
(11:53):
version in Second Kings portrays Manassa as irredeemedly evil, an
evil man induced many to follow his lead, had no
compunctions about ignoring the Israelite God, and incurred God's wrath
and consequent judgment. Conversely, the account and Second Chronicles depicts
(12:19):
the king as evil also, but eventually repentant. Later, still,
Manassa acted to promote Israelite worship. Some might want to
harmonize the stories, but why would the editors of the
Kings of the King's material leave out such a compelling
(12:42):
story of subsequent repentance and reversal, it is a little
easier to imagine how the editors of the Chronicles material
simply could not get their heads around and an Israelite
king who was so evil as to be an unmitigated
dissease at the end of the day. No one can
(13:03):
be sure how to account for these two stories. Manassa
was a historical figure who was even cited in Assyrian stories.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Or sources.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
The best we can do, perhaps is to acknowledge that
an evil and unrepentant Manassa served the purposes of the
editors who put the king's story together, and by the
same token and equally evil Manassa makes for a great
conversion story in the second Chronicles version. As to which
(13:39):
story is the more accurate one in historical terms, no
one can say for certain. Let me encourage you to
go to my website Faspina dot com, give me your
email there and take a look at it, and if
you'd like me to ask answer a question in a
(14:00):
subsequent Q and A session, email me at Fsmina one
zero six at gmail dot com. I want to thank
you so very much for listening to the Bible You
Thought you Knew.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
I have a question for you.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Do you have a question or topic that you'd like
me to cover on the podcasts. If so, all you
need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts and
do two simple things. One, leave a rating and review,
telling me what you think of the podcasts. Two, in
that review, ask anything you want related to the Bible.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's all you have to do.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Then listen in to hear your question answered.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
On a future episode.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Join us next time on the Bible You Thought you
Knew when we discuss Jesus' personal Bible God bless
Speaker 2 (15:00):
And
The Bible is full of stories that we all know
and love, but how well do we know?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
That the answer might surprise you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
The Bible you thought you knew is going to dive
deep into the exquisite details of the Biblical stories that
make them fascinating and transforming. In this week's podcast, we
will treat the story of Manassa, one of the most
notorious of Israel's kings. His story is narrated primarily in
(00:36):
Second Kings, Chapter twenty one, the first eighteen verses. At first,
he is presented as a remarkable king, at least in
terms of his longevity. He began his reign when he
was twelve years old and was on the throne for
fifty five years in Jerusalem. That was an incredible run.
(00:59):
His mother's name was Hefzeba. That's in verse one.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Of chapter twenty one.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
That notation, however, was the extent of the good news
regarding Manassa. Everything subsequently was downhill. Quite simply, the text
points out that Manassa did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord. His evil amounted to his imitating
(01:27):
the cultic and religious practices of the inhabitants that God
had driven out of the promised land. From an Israelite perspective,
these were abominable practices. That's in verse two. After that statement,
the narrative goes into great detail to describe what Manassa
(01:48):
had done to earn this accusation. For openers, he rebuilt
the high places which his father Hezekiah had previously destroyed
in verse three. High places is a technical term that
typically refer to sites where non Israelite cultic practices are observed,
(02:12):
such as sacrificing to gods other than the Israelite deity.
In addition, Manassa erected altars for Baal and made an asherah,
another non Israelite symbol of worship. In the latter case,
Manassa imitated something that Ahab, a former king of the
(02:35):
Northern Kingdom of Israel, had done. Moreover, Manassa worshiped and
served all the hosts of heaven, a generic reference to
multiple deities. The description of these offenses continues. Manassa also
built altars to honor other gods in the Great Temple
(02:58):
in Jerusalem. It was this temple about which the Israelite
God had said quote in Jerusalem, that is, in the
Temple in Jerusalem, I will place my name end quote
that's in verse four. As though that was not enough,
Manassa built altars for the hosts of heaven. Again, this
(03:20):
refers to ancient Near Eastern pantheons in the two courts
that were part.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Of the temple.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Of course, this was the temple that King Solomon had
erected so long ago. But these non Israelite worship thrines
were only part of Manassa's transgressions. He even sacrificed one
of his own sons, something considered an abomination from an
(03:49):
Israelite perspective. That's in verse six. Along with this egregious action,
he dealt with the Black Arts by dealing with souths, sayers, mediums, wizards,
and those who practice augury. As expected, this incurred God's wrath.
(04:10):
What Manassa did was not the result of ignorance. The
king knew very well that he was engaged in distinctly
non Israelite and therefore forbidden religious practices. Indeed, the text
points out that Manassa had made an image of the Asherah,
a sort of poll used for culting purposes, and placed
(04:34):
in the temple, directly disobeying commandments God had made to
David and Solomon. After all, God had placed the divine
name in that temple. Plus, that temple was a symbol
of God's commitment to and protection of Israel. That's in
(04:55):
verse seven. This temple and these divine p promises were
part of the mosaic covenant that God had made with Israel. Unfortunately,
instead of Manassas encouraging his people to follow the Lord
who had elected them, he seduced them into all types
(05:16):
of non Israelite worship. According to this startling text, Israel's
religious practices are described as a worse than the nations
that the Lord had displaced when Israel occupied the Promised Land.
That's in verse nine of chapter twenty one. It is
(05:39):
hardly surprising that God decided to bring judgment on Manassa
and Judah due to these outrageous behaviors. The Lord sent
prophets to announce this judgment that's in verse ten. Quite
simply though the prophets. Through the prophets, the Lord insisted
(06:01):
that Judah Jerusalem, who were now indistinguishable from any other nation,
would now suffer the same fate as the Northern Kingdom experience.
That's in verses twelve and thirteen. The metaphor being used
is that Judah and Jerusalem were being compared to a
dirty dish that had to be cleaned. The Lord planned
(06:25):
to wipe the dish clean and turn it upside down.
The reality to which the metaphor refers was that the
Judean people would be defeated by a foreign enemy. More
than being defeated, Judah would become spoiled. From God's point
(06:46):
of view, this was as low as God's people ever stooped.
That's in verses fourteen to fifteen of chapter twenty one.
In a final statement, the narrator lets a snow that
Manassa shed innocent blood. In a flurry of supposed hyperbole,
(07:07):
we learned that this blood filled the streets of Jerusalem.
It turns out that the initial note that Manassa had
ruled for so long ended up being a criticism rather
than an accolade. Manassa was a great sinner, and he
had induced Judah to follow in his ways.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
That's in verse sixteen.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
This story concludes with the notation that Manassa had died
and that the rest of what he had done was
written in a text that chronicles the deeds of Israel's
and Judas Kings.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
That's in verse seventeen.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Manassa was succeeded by his son Ammone. This is not
the last thing reported about Manassa. However, in his story
as related in Second Chronicles, namely Chapter thirty three, we
are given a very different account. As a matter of fact,
(08:12):
to say that the story is different is to understate
the case considerably. The first part of Manassa's story, as
it appears in Second Chronicles mirrors the story in Second Kings.
We are told about all the wicked.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Things he did.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
As well, we learned about how very long he reigned
in Judah.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
That's in Second Chronicles.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
The first nine verses of chapter thirty three. Also, as
was the case in Second Kings, according to Second Chronicles,
we get a glimpse about God's judgment on Judah. This
came about because of Assyrian aggression. The Assyrians carried off
(08:57):
Manassa to Babylon. He was about owned during.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
The journey that's in verse eleven.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
But then the story goes in an astonishing different direction.
While Manassa was in distress in Babylon, he entreated the
Lord and humbled himself. That seemed to be a code
for a repentant prayer. God heard this supplication and responded.
(09:27):
Without providing any details, the narration points out that God
brought Manassa back to Jerusalem and then back into his kingdom.
When that happened, Manassa realized that the Lord was indeed God.
Up to that point, he had recognized many other deities
(09:50):
as real.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
That had changed. That's in verse thirteen.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
While in Jerusalem, Manassa bill an outer wall and raised
it very high as well. He placed military personnel to
protect that wall. That's in verse fourteen. But Manassa was
not done. He wanted to do something that would reverse
his previous religious practices, so he proceeded to remove any
(10:22):
foreign gods, idols, and altars that he had previously made.
He took them from the temple and cast them away
outside of the city limits. Moreover, he restored the altar
of the Lord and offered on that altar peace and
tex thanksgiving sacrifices. In addition, Manassa now encouraged Judah to
(10:47):
obey the Israelite God. Even though the people continued to
worship at the high places, they still worshiped only Israel's God.
That's in verse seventeen of Chapter thirty three. In Second Chronicles,
Manassa's story concludes in.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
The following manner.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
We are informed where to find his story. His prayer
to God and the words of the prophets who had
spoken to him. That's in verse eighteen. Another element in
this conclusion mentions Manassa's prayer and the fact that God
heard him granted his evil deeds are also rehearsed. But
(11:30):
then we are told that once Manassa humble himself, everything changed.
Then we read that Ammun, his son, succeeded in. Of course,
these two accounts raise an obvious question. How does recons
one reconcile them. The easy answer is one can't. The
(11:53):
version in Second Kings portrays Manassa as irredeemedly evil, an
evil man induced many to follow his lead, had no
compunctions about ignoring the Israelite God, and incurred God's wrath
and consequent judgment. Conversely, the account and Second Chronicles depicts
(12:19):
the king as evil also, but eventually repentant. Later, still,
Manassa acted to promote Israelite worship. Some might want to
harmonize the stories, but why would the editors of the
Kings of the King's material leave out such a compelling
(12:42):
story of subsequent repentance and reversal, it is a little
easier to imagine how the editors of the Chronicles material
simply could not get their heads around and an Israelite
king who was so evil as to be an unmitigated
dissease at the end of the day. No one can
(13:03):
be sure how to account for these two stories. Manassa
was a historical figure who was even cited in Assyrian stories.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Or sources.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
The best we can do, perhaps is to acknowledge that
an evil and unrepentant Manassa served the purposes of the
editors who put the king's story together, and by the
same token and equally evil Manassa makes for a great
conversion story in the second Chronicles version. As to which
(13:39):
story is the more accurate one in historical terms, no
one can say for certain. Let me encourage you to
go to my website Faspina dot com, give me your
email there and take a look at it, and if
you'd like me to ask answer a question in a
(14:00):
subsequent Q and A session, email me at Fsmina one
zero six at gmail dot com. I want to thank
you so very much for listening to the Bible You
Thought you Knew.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
I have a question for you.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Do you have a question or topic that you'd like
me to cover on the podcasts. If so, all you
need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts and
do two simple things. One, leave a rating and review,
telling me what you think of the podcasts. Two, in
that review, ask anything you want related to the Bible.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's all you have to do.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Then listen in to hear your question answered.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
On a future episode.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Join us next time on the Bible You Thought you
Knew when we discuss Jesus' personal Bible God bless
Speaker 2 (15:00):
And
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